Battle of the Labyrinth
Chapter 17
XXXXX
"Well, that is nice and all, but we just came through the only entrance." Naruto commented. "Also, why are you so willing to die?"
Daedalus just smiled bitterly. "When you have lived as long as I have, you become bitter. I did a lot of things that I am not proud of and while I don't think you all will succeed, I can still give you a fighting chance."
Naruto growled. "I guess you are right, but I still hate the idea of leaving someone behind."
"A rare quality in children of Hades." Daedalus replied with a smile before they heard noise of the other side of the door. "There is the window, now go!"
Annabeth looked panicked for a moment before see looked to the various models of wings on the walls. "Take a pair of wings!" The other looked at her like she was crazy before King Minos's ghost and a few monsters burst through the door.
"Well…that sucks." Kelli replied nervously.
"True, but come on!" Silena replied as the two girls and Percy rushed for the wings with Annabeth not far behind and helping them get the wings on.
Nico glared at King Minos. "What are you doing here, I thought I ditched you. Be gone!"
The ghost just laughed cruelly. "You have no power over me boy! I am King Minos, Lord of Spirits! The Ghost King!" he laughed in glee as he summoned spirits to help him along with the monsters. "When I am done with you, I will be revived! A soul for a soul as it were so I can finally kill the inventor!"
"Not going to happen. I am the Ghost King now." Nico calmly stated before he stabbed his black blade into the floor, and it cleaved through the stone like butter.
"What? No!" Minos shouted as he and his minions' forms rippled.
The ground rumbled. The windows cracked and shattered to pieces, letting in a blast of fresh air. A fissure opened in the stone floor of the workshop, and Minos and all his spirits were sucked into the void with a horrible wail.
"You've just been dethroned old man." Nico replied with a smirk before that grew into a worried look as the monsters that were still there started their attack. However, Mrs. O'leary growled and charged the monsters.
Daedalus looked worried for the giant hellhound as he too rushed into the fray to save his companion while shouting, "GO YOU FOOLS!"
Naruto turned back to his group and saw that Annabeth, Silena, Rachel, Kelli, and Percy had their wings strapped on. Nico and him were the only ones not to have them, but that was ok since Naruto still had his hellfire wings to help him out.
Blond ninja nodded to Annabeth and she led them out the window. Naruto then grabbed Nico by the shoulders and jumped out the window themselves with Nico screaming that his brother was crazy until the hellfire wings came out and his screams lessen just a bit.
"WAIT, NONE OF US KNOWS HOW TO FLY!" Percy shouted, thinking that just a bit too late.
"Well, now would be the best time to learn!" Annabeth shouted to him.
XXX
Turns out that when you jump out of a window that is five hundred feet in the air, you lose control of yourself and forget what you were trying to do to save your skin. Thankfully, Annabeth recovered first and shouted to her screaming companions. "Spread your arms! Keep them extended!"
They managed to do that despite their initial panic. The wings stiffened, caught the wind, and their descent slowed. They soared downward, but at a controlled angle, like a kite in a dive. After a while, Percy tried flapping the wings and he managed to go a little higher.
However, Annabeth was having none of that. "Land!" Annabeth yelled. "These wings won't last forever."
"How long?" Rachel asked.
"I don't want to find out!" Annabeth said.
They swooped down toward the Garden of the Gods. Percy did a complete circle around one of the rock spires and freaked out a couple of climbers. Then the six of them soared across the valley, over a road, and landed on the terrace of the visitor center. It was late afternoon and the place looked pretty empty, but those that had the mechanical wings ripped them off as quickly as they could. Looking at them, they could see Annabeth was right. The self-adhesive seals that bound the wings to their backs were already melting, and they were shedding bronze feathers. It seemed a shame, but they couldn't fix them, and couldn't leave them around or the mortals, so they stuffed the wings in trash bins outside the cafeteria.
"Well, you guys did well, but I wouldn't call that flying. More like falling with style." Naruto stated with a smirk.
"True," Nico replied before rounding on his brother and punched him in the shoulder. "Warn me next time you decide to fly me out the window! But…that was awesome."
"Thanks!" Naruto replied as he watched Percy use a tourist binocular camera to look up at the hill where Daedalus's workshop had been, but it had vanished. No more smoke. No broken windows. Just the side of a hill. Naruto rose an eyebrow at that and said, "Well…that's odd."
"The workshop moved," Annabeth guessed. "There's no telling where."
"So what do we do now?" Percy asked. "How do we get back in the maze?"
Annabeth gazed at the summit of Pikes Peak in the distance. "Maybe we can't. If Daedalus died…he said his life force was tied into the Labyrinth. The whole thing might've been destroyed. Maybe that will stop Luke's invasion."
Percy looked put out by that as he thought about Grover and Tyson, who were still in the maze.
Naruto rose an eyebrow and said, "Yeah, no. That guy ain't dead yet."
"How do you know?" Percy asked.
"I am a son of Hades, I know these things. I can sense it like I can sense energy." Naruto replied with a shrug.
"Me too," Nico replied, "but it is more like a buzzing in my ears."
"What about Tyson and Grover, then?"
Nico shook his head. "That's harder. They're not humans or half-bloods. They don't have mortal souls." Naruto just shrugged, not sure himself.
"We have to get into town," Annabeth decided. "Our chances will be better off finding an entrance to the Labyrinth. We have to make it back to camp before Luke and his army."
"We could just take a plane," Rachel said.
Percy shuddered. "I don't fly."
"But you just did."
"That was low flying," Percy said, "and even that's risky. Flying up really high—that's Zeus's territory. I can't do it. Besides, we don't even have time for a flight. The labyrinth is the quickest way back."
"Odd how Zeus has never threatened me about that." Naruto mumbled under his breath.
"So we need a car to take us into the city," Annabeth said.
Rachel looked down into the parking lot. She grimaced, as if she were about to do something she regretted. "I'll take care of it."
"How?" Annabeth asked.
"Just trust me."
Annabeth looked uneasy, but she nodded. "Okay, I'm going to buy a prism in the gift shop, try to make a rainbow, and send an Iris-message to camp."
"I'll go with you," Nico said. "I'm hungry."
"I could use something to eat as well." Silena replied thoughfully.
"I guess me, Percy, and Keli will wait in the parking lot with Rachel then." Naruto replied with a shrug.
Rachel frowned at her group, like she didn't want them either. It was like she didn't want them to know something important about her. However, that didn't stop them from following anyway. She headed toward a big black car parked at the edge of the lot. It was a chauffeured Lexus, like the kind you could see always driving around Manhattan. The driver was out front, reading a newspaper. He wore a dark suit and tie.
"What are you going to do?" Percy asked Rachel.
"Just wait here," she said miserably. "Please."
Rachel marched straight up to the driver and talked to him. He frowned. Rachel said something else. He turned pale and hastily folded up his magazine. He nodded and fumbled for his cell phone. After a brief call, he opened the back door of the car for Rachel to get in. She pointed back in the group's direction, and the driver bobbed his head some more, like Yes, ma'am. Whatever you want.
Percy was utterly confused, but Naruto just rolled his eyes, figuring it out quickly. Kelli seemed to have picked up on it as well. "Oh? Seems red is rich. Who would have thought." She whispered to the blond, who nodded.
Rachel came back to get them just as Nico, Silena, and Annabeth appeared from the gift shop.
"I talked to Chiron," Annabeth said. "They're doing their best to prepare for battle, but he still wants us back. They're going to need every hero they can get. Did we find a ride?"
"The driver's ready when we are," Rachel said.
The chauffeur was now talking to another guy in khakis and a polo shirt, probably his client who'd rented the car. The client was complaining, but they could hear the driver saying, "I'm sorry, sir. Emergency. I've ordered another car for you."
"Come on," Rachel said. She led them to the car and got in without even looking at the flustered guy who'd rented it. A minute later they were cruising down the road. The seats were leather. There was plenty of legroom. The backseat had flat-panel TVs built into the headrests and a mini-fridge stocked with bottled water, sodas, and snacks. The group was rather hungry, so they started pigging out. Why not take advantage of the free food?
"Where to, Miss Dare?" the driver asked.
"I'm not sure yet, Robert," she said. "We just need to drive through town and, uh, look around."
"Whatever you say, miss."
Percy looked at Rachel. "Do you know this guy?"
"No."
"But he dropped everything to help you. Why?"
"Just keep your eyes peeled," she said. "Help me look."
That certainly didn't answer his questions, much to the amusement of Naruto and Kelli, but he decided to drop it for now.
They drove through Colorado Springs for about half an hour and saw nothing that Rachel considered a possible Labyrinth entrance. Percy was very aware of Rachel's shoulder pressing against his. He kept wondering who she was exactly, and how she could walk up to some random chauffeur and immediately get a ride.
After about an hour they decided to head north toward Denver, thinking that maybe a bigger city would be more likely to have a Labyrinth entrance, but they were all getting nervous. They were losing time.
Then right as they were leaving Colorado Springs, Rachel sat bolt upright.
"Get off the highway!"
The driver glanced back. "Miss?"
"I saw something, I think. Get off here."
The driver swerved across traffic and took the exit.
"What did you see?" Percy asked, because they were pretty much out of the city now. There wasn't anything around except hills, grassland, and some scattered farm buildings. Rachel had the driver turn down this unpromising dirt road. The sign said, "Western Museum of Mining & Industry."
For a museum, it didn't look like much—a little house like an oldfashioned railroad station, some drills and pumps and old steam shovels on display outside.
"There." Rachel pointed to a hole in the side of a nearby hill—a tunnel that was boarded up and chained. "An old mine entrance."
"A door to the Labyrinth?" Annabeth asked. "How can you be sure?"
"Well, look at it!" Rachel said. "I mean…I can see it, okay?" She thanked the driver and they all got out. He didn't ask for money or anything.
"Are you sure you'll be all right, Miss Dare? I'd be happy to call your—"
"No!" Rachel said. "No, really. Thanks, Robert. But we're fine." The museum seemed to be closed, so nobody bothered them as they climbed the hill to the mine shaft. When they got to the entrance, the mark of Daedalus was seen, engraved on the padlock, though how Rachel had seen something so tiny all the way from the highway was anyone's guess. Percy touched the padlock and the chains fell away. Naruto kicked down a few boards and walked inside. For better or worse, they were back in the Labyrinth.
"Still can't believe you all wanted to go back into this nightmare." Kelli replied while the group silently questioned their own sanity.
XXX
The dirt tunnels turned to stone. They wound around and split off and basically tried to confuse the group, but Rachel had no trouble guiding them. Annabeth told her they needed to get back to New York, and she hardly even paused when the tunnels offered a choice.
Percy was surprised when Rachel and Annabeth started up a conversation as they walked. Annabeth asked her more about her background, but Rachel was evasive, so they started talking about architecture. It turned out that Rachel knew something about it from studying art. They talked about different facades on buildings around New York as well as a few other things that Percy stopped paying attention to because not even he could get that much out of the red head, much to the amusement of Naruto and Silena.
Naruto then turned to his brother and sighed, "Thanks for the warning little bro, but why didn't you stay at the Ranch?"
"Too boring and I really wanted to help." Nico replied with a shrug. "Besides, I wanted to spend time with my little brother. When I traveled, I really only had the dead as company. So…it is refreshing that I am back with the living."
"Whoa?! What makes me the little brother?" Naruto asked skeptically.
"I was born in the 1930's, so ha." Nico replied with a smirk.
"So? I was born in a different dimension." Naruto stated blandly, making Nico trip over his feet.
"Oh right, I forgot about that." Nico replied sheepishly. "Oh well, at least I can call you family."
"Got that right." Naruto replied as he ruffled the younger….looking boy's hair. "Oh and you may be the King of Ghosts, but I am the Prince of the Underworld."
"Yeah….you keep telling yourself that." Nico dead panned before that look turned nervous. "So…do you think after all that…I could be accepted back at camp?"
"I don't see why not. I have already proven that Children of Hades are not all the same. You just need to continue that."
"Oof!" Percy let out as he ran into Rachel, having paid more attention to Naruto and Nico's conversation that the Blond and Redhead's. Apparently they had stopped because of a minor problem. A literal cross roads in their path. The tunnel continued straight ahead, but a side tunnel T'd off to the right—a circular shaft carved from volcanic rock.
"What is it?" Pecry asked.
Rachel stared down the dark tunnel. In the dim flashlight beam, her face looked like one of Nico's specters.
"Is it that way?" Annabeth asked.
"No," Rachel said nervously. "Not at all."
"Why are we stopping then?" Percy asked.
"Listen," Nico said.
Wind could be heard coming down the tunnel and with it brought the scent of Eucalyptus trees, like the ones in California. It brought memories of their fight with Atlas on top of Mount Tamalpais. Naruto would have chuckled at that, because he reveal to the Titan what he was really holding up, but the situation seemed different. Darker, like something down there was waiting for them.
"There's something evil down that tunnel," Rachel said. "Something very powerful."
"And the smell of death," Nico added his two cents.
Annabeth and Percy exchanged glances.
"Luke's entrance," she guessed. "The one to Mount Othrys—the Titans' palace."
"I have to check it out," Percy said.
"Percy, no."
"Luke could be right here," the boy said. "Or…or Kronos. I have to find out what's going on."
"The we will all go." Annabeth replied nervously.
"That is a horrible idea." Kelli replied nervously. She had good reason to eb nervous though because what if Kronos himself was there, he would kill her for her betrayal.
"I agree." Naruto replied grimly. "But, if you really want to check things out, then I came coming with you. We can watch each other's back."
"You sure?" Percy asked, surprised that his blond friend wanted to do this.
"Come on Percy, you know me better than that. Remember the motto?" Naruto asked seriously.
"Those who abandon their friends are worse than trash…yeah I get it." Percy with a big smile.
Annabeth took her Yankees cap out of her pocket. "At least take this. And be careful."
"Thanks." Percy replied as he took the hat, a little bummed that he wasn't getting a kiss on the check like last time. The feeling became stronger when Silena gave Naruto one, for just in case.
"Come on then." Naruto replied as he used the darkness jutsu to make himself invisible. Percy put the hat on and followed a few seconds later.
XXX
Before the two boys even got to the exit, voices where heard: the growling, barking sounds of sea-demon smiths, the telekhines.
"At least we salvaged the blade," one said. "The master will still reward us."
"Yes! Yes!" a second shrieked. "Rewards beyond measure!"
Another voice, this one more human, said: "Um, yeah, well that's great. Now, if you're done with me—"
"No, half-blood!" a telekhine said. "You must help us make the presentation. It is a great honor!"
"Gee, thanks," the half-blood said and the two boys managed to recognize him as Ethan Nakamura, the boy they saved only to run away when he got his chance. Seems that freedom came short as he was back with the enemy.
Since the two demi gods were still invisible, they follow the monsters and the traitor silently in the shadows of the tunnel.
A blast of cold air hit them as they two were standing near the top of Mount Tam. The Pacific Ocean spread out below, gray under a cloudy sky. About twenty feet downhill, two telekhines were placing something on a big rock—something long and thin and wrapped in a black cloth. Ethan was helping them open it.
"Careful, fool," the telekhine scolded. "One touch, and the blade will sever your soul from your body."
Ethan swallowed nervously. "Maybe I'll let you unwrap it, then."
The duo glanced up at the mountain's peak, where a black marble fortress loomed, a scene right from their strange dreams. It had the look of an oversized mausoleum, with walls fifty feet high. Percy had no idea how mortals could miss the fact that it was here. But then again, everything below the summit seemed fuzzy, as if there were a thick veil between them and the lower half of the mountain. There was magic going on here—really powerful Mist. Above them, the sky swirled into a huge funnel cloud. Atlas was not seen, but could be heard, groaning in the distance, still laboring under the weight of the sky, just beyond the fortress. Naruto nearly laughed.
"There!" the telekhine said. Reverently, he lifted the weapon, and the observers' blood turned to ice.
It was a scythe—a six foot-long blade curved like a crescent moon, with a wooden handle wrapped in leather. The blade glinted two different colors— steel and bronze. It was the weapon of Kronos, the one he'd used to slice up his father, Ouranos, before the gods had taken it away from him and cut Kronos to pieces, casting him into Tartarus. Now the weapon was re-forged.
"We must sanctify it in blood," the telekhine said. "Then you, half-blood, shall help present it when the lord awakes."
While they didn't want to be anywhere near this place anymore, the two demi gods rushed in the fortress, hoping to get more information. If there was any way to stop Kronos from rising, they would take it.
They dashed through a dark foyer and into the main hall. The floor shined like a mahogany piano—pure black and yet full of light. Black marble statues lined the walls. They were looking at images of the Titans who'd ruled before the gods. At the end of the room, between two bronze braziers, was a dais. And on the dais, the golden sarcophagus.
The room was silent except for the crackle of the fires. Luke wasn't here. No guards. Nothing. It was probably a trap of some kind and Naruto didn't like it.
While it seemed like it was just too easy, the duo made their way to the dais. The sarcophagus was about ten feet long, much too big for a human. It was carved with elaborate scenes of death and destruction, pictures of the gods being trodden under chariots, temples and famous world landmarks being smashed and burned. The whole coffin gave off an aura of extreme cold, it was like walking into a freezer and that was proven when they started seeing their breath.
Percy drew his weapon, mostly for comfort than anything else. He was nervous after all and Naruto wasn't much better. "Help me remove the lid." He whispered to his ninja friend. The lid was decorated even more intricately than the sides—with scenes of carnage and power. In the middle was an inscription carved in letters even older than Greek, a language of magic. They had an idea of what it said….Kronos, the Lord of Time.
Naruto nodded, but when they touched the lid, their fingers went blue, showing them how cold it actually was. Then they heard voices approaching from behind and they knew they needed to be quick about it. They pushed back the golden lid and it fell to the floor with a huge WHOOOOM! However, what was inside made their minds stall.
Mortal legs, dressed in gray pants. A white T-shirt, hands folded over his stomach. One piece of his chest was missing—a clean black hole about the size of a bullet wound, right where his heart should've been. His eyes were closed. His skin was pale. Blond hair…and a scar running along the left side of his face.
The body in the coffin was Luke's.
XXX
"Something is not right here." Naruto whispered in worry. By all accounts, Luke looked dead to the world with that hole in his chest. But again, WHY was Luke of all people in the chest were Kronos' body should be? Glancing at the son of Poseidon, he knew he wouldn't get the answer from him as he too was trying to figure things out.
Then the voices of the telekhines were right behind the two.
"What has happened!" one of the demons screamed when he saw the lid. Naruto grabbed Percy and led him away from the dais, just in case something big happened.
"Careful!" the other demon warned. "Perhaps he stirs. We must present the gifts now. Immediately!"
The two telekhines shuffled forward and knelt, holding up the scythe on its wrapping cloth. "My lord," one said. "Your symbol of power is remade."
Silence. Nothing happened in the coffin.
"You fool," the other telekhine muttered. "He requires the half-blood first."
Ethan stepped back. "Whoa, what do you mean, he requires me?"
"Don't be a coward!" the first telekhine hissed. "He does not require your death. Only your allegiance. Pledge him your service. Renounce the gods. That is all."
"No!" Percy yelled. It was a stupid thing to do, but he charged into the room and took off the cap. "Ethan, don't!"
"Oh you idiot!" Naruto grumbled as he too dropped the darkness off of him to become visible again. No point in hiding now.
"Trespassers!" The telekhines bared their seal teeth. "The master will deal with you soon enough. Hurry, boy!"
"Ethan," Percy pleaded, "don't listen to them. Help me destroy it."
Ethan turned toward me, his eye patch blending in with the shadows on his face. His expression was something like pity. "I told you two not to spare me. 'An eye for an eye.' You ever hear that saying? I learned what it means the hard way—when I discovered my godly parent. I'm the child of Nemesis, Goddess of Revenge. And this is what I was made to do."
He turned toward the dais. "I renounce the gods! What have they ever done for me? I will see them destroyed. I will serve Kronos."
The building rumbled. A wisp of blue light rose from the floor at Ethan Nakamura's feet. It drifted toward the coffin and began to shimmer, like a cloud of pure energy. Then it descended on the sarcophagus.
Luke sat bolt upright. His eyes opened, and they were no longer blue. They were golden, the same color as the coffin. The hole in his chest was gone. He was complete. He leaped out of the coffin with ease, and where his feet touched the floor, the marble froze like craters of ice.
He looked at Ethan and the telekhines with those horrible golden eyes, as if he were a newborn baby, not sure what he was seeing. Then he looked at two other demi gods, and a smile of recognition crept across his mouth.
"This body has been well prepared." His voice was like a razor blade running over their skin. It was Luke's, but not Luke's. underneath his voice was another, more horrible sound—an ancient, cold sound like metal scraping against rock. "Don't you think so, Percy Jackson, Naruto Uzumaki?"
Oh shit! Oh shit! Oh Shit! The two boys yelled in their minds but were unable to move.
Kronos threw back his head and laughed. The scar on his face rippled.
"Luke feared you two, especially the ninja," the Titan's voice said. "His jealously and hatred have been powerful tools. It has kept him obedient. For that I thank you."
Ethan collapsed in terror. He covered his face with his hands. The telekhines trembled, holding up the scythe.
Percy seemed to gain a bit of courage at this and charge the possessed Luke head on, with Naruto yelling at him to wait so they could come up with a plan. Percy didn't listen as he thrust his blade at not Luke's chest, but his skin deflected the blow like he was made of pure steel. He looked at the boy with amusement. Then he flicked his hand, and Percy flew across the room.
Naruto growled as he readily his own signature blades, knowing that he would have to fight. Maybe he could finish this before the pointless war even started. However, Kronos-Luke just smirked at Naruto as he now held up his remade Scythe. "Ah…much better," he said. "Backbiter, Luke called it. An appropriate name. now that it is re-forged completely, it shall indeed bite back."
"Feh, so I am guessing that he was just a pawn for you then?" Naruto asked.
"But of course young ninja." Kronos laughed. "Truth be told though, I would rather this body be stronger, like yours. But now, this boy serves me entirely, as I require." The cruel smile was then displayed on his lips. "Oh and you should know young one that you would have made a better host. After all, my last daughter went to that world just to revive me, but she failed when she had kids and they killed her. Still, she partially succeeded."
"Great…I don't even know what you mean by that, but I would be your puppet like Luke. I will just end you now and stop this pointless war before it begins."
"You can try!" Kronos roared gleefully as Naruto rushed him as well, bringing down both of his blades, only for the puppet to block with ease and then blasted Naruto back into a pillar next to Percy.
"Ugh. Damn that smarts." Naruto glanced at his friend to see him get back up. "What do you say? Go down fighting?"
"We don't have much choice." Percy grunted.
"True." Naruto consented as they both got ready to fight the puppet again, only when they took a step forward, they froze.
Kronos roared in laughter. "Fools. I am the Lord of Time. You can't even hope to beat me!" With that, he started walking towards them at a slow and menacing pace with his scythe ready to put them down.
Then all of a sudden, they heard Rachel's voice and a blue plastic hair brush whizzed past them and hit Not Luke right in the eye, releasing the two boys from his time hold. "Ow!" he yelled. For a moment it was only Luke's voice, full of surprise and pain.
Naruto looked back to see his group there, looking at the scene in dismay and Annabeth looking to be on the brink of tears. Looking back at Luke, Naruto saw the signs of Kronos back in control and saw that it was time to go. He didn't mind dying here, but he didn't want his friends dying too. "TIME TO GO!" Naruto roared before grabbing Percy and hauling him to the group.
"AFTER THEM!" Kronos roared in rage.
"No!" Nico yelled. He clapped his hands together, and a jagged spire of rock the size of an eighteen-wheeler erupted from the ground right in front of the fortress. The tremor it caused was so powerful the front columns of the building came crashing down, themuffled screams from the telekhines inside. Dust billowed everywhere.
"Nice one little brother!" Naruto shouted in glee as they ran back into the Labyrinth, the old Titan Lord shaking the world behind them in rage.
XXXXX
Well, there you all go. Next time, I will include a short little Omake about Ares and Hephaestus. I would include it now, but my battery is almost dead and I have to get into work.
Review!